Springfield Thunderbirds fall on road to Charlotte

The Springfield Thunderbirds saw their special teams falter Friday night, as Charlotte forward Warren Foegele tallied a hat trick in what was a 4-1 loss to the Checkers at the Bojangles Coliseum.

With the loss, the Thunderbirds fall to 9-14-1 on the season.

Springfield goaltender Sam Montembeault was tested early, as the Checkers fired home 10 shots over the first 9 minutes of play.

While Montembeault stopped two Charlotte power plays early in the first, Charlotte finally broke through at 11:52, with Andrew Miller lighting the lamp off of assists from Lucas Wallmark and Dennis Robertson.

After getting outshot 12-5 in the first period, the T-Birds responded with an 11-8 shooting margin in the second stanza.

However, Foegele stole the show in the middle frame, starting his scoring barrage with a shorthanded breakaway tally just 4:13 into the second.

Foegele was at it again just 3:35 later, skating in on another breakaway and beating Montembeault to give Charlotte a commanding 3-0 lead.

While Springfield earned five stints on the power play through the first two periods, the T-Birds were unable to capitalize, with Charlotte goalie Alex Nedeljkovic finishing with 16 saves in 40 minutes of play.

The Thunderbirds finally answered just 2:50 into the third, when Blaine Byron tipped home a point shot from Tim Erixon that sailed home to make it a 3-1 game. The tally stands as Byron's fourth straight game with a point.

However, the Thunderbirds were not able to claw back in this one, as Nedeljkovic finished with 21 saves in the win. Foegele capped off his hat trick with an empty-net score in the final minute of play.

After taking a rest on Saturday, the Thunderbirds and Checkers will meet again on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. ET rematch. Springfield then returns home for the start of a 3-in-3 against Rochester on Friday, Dec. 8.